The Gem of All
by InkStainedSoul
Summary: Charlie Marcus was a ordinary girl until a boy mistook her as a companion of the Doctor and trusted her with an important trinket. Part of a misunderstanding, she and the Doctor team up to save the Earth from total destruction.
1. Chapter 1

A Grave Misunderstanding

Charlotte 'Charlie' Marcus stood at the in front of the town mall, watching the citizens of San Diego stroll by. Her jet black hair dangled in front of her sapphire eyes as she watched families, couples, and random individuals.

"Excuse me!" A boy around the age of eighteen ran up to her. He had shaggy, blond hair, chocolate eyes, and a narrow face. "You at the wall!" His British accent is what caught her attention.

"Me?" Charlie raised an eyebrow as she spotted him.

The boy was out of breath as he approached her, "Where…is…he?" He panted and coughed, "I thought he'd be here."

"Sorry, you got the wrong person." Charlie shook her head.

"Oh, I get it. You must be his friend."

"Who's friend?" Charlie grew confused.

The boy chuckled, "He said his friends were jokers. But this is really serious."

"Dude, I have no idea what you're talking about."  
"Maybe he'll tell you later. Look, give him this when you go back to his TARDIS." The boy threw a small, wooden box into her hands.

"A what-DIS?"

"Just tell him that he's found me already!"

"What?" Charlie was way beyond confused.

"Thank you, dear girl. I'll never forget you." The boy hugged Charlie and ran off into the crowd.

"Hey, wait!" Charlie yelled after him, "I think you got the wrong person! Come back!" She chased the boy into the crowd.

Suddenly, a brown-haired man in a tweed jacket and a bow tie walked up to the same spot where Charlie stood, "Now, there is where he said he'd meet me." He check the golden watch on his left wrist, "And the exact time, too. Where is he? It's not like the prince of an alien world to show up late."


	2. Chapter 2

Tea for the Doctor

Charlie stopped to catch her breath and the boy was nowhere in sight, "Who was that boy?" She glanced down at the wooden box.

The clock tower above stuck twelve, the bell ringing alerted Charlie as she looked up at the clock's face. "Crap! I'm late!" She threw the box into her pocket and ran for work.

Charlie ran inside of Rose's Café and headed straight to the back.

"Hey, Charlie! You're fifteen minutes!" A man with graying hair scolded the girl from his desk, "Show up late next time, you're fired! Got that?"

"I got it, Mike." Charlie nodded her head as she took off her jacket and tied a black apron around her waist. "Jerk." She muttered.

"Charlie, you'll never believe what happened?" A girl with twinkling green eyes ran up to Charlie.

"What, Lily?" Charlie tied her hair up into a ponytail.

"Ritchie from school is inviting people to go to Colorado for a ski trip, and he invited me!" She squealed with delight. "Can you believe it?"

"That's great." Charlie gave out a weak smile.

"I also heard he's invited you." Lily held her friend's hand.

"He did, Lil, but I can't go. Someone's got to hold down the fort at home while my mother and my stepdad are taking their two month second honeymoon."

"Poor Charlie, when are you going to have an adventure? You're always here, at school, and at home. You should get out more." Lily hugged her friend and ran off.

Charlie looked down and bit her lip, "I hate it when she's right." She felt the wooden box in her pocket and pulled it out. She stoked the top, which had some foreign carvings to her. "I wonder what's inside here that made that boy all fussy." She opened the box and gasped at the contents. "A necklace?" She pulled out a tiny emerald hanging on a gold chain. "It's really pretty." She placed the necklace around her neck and stoked it.

"Hey, Charlie, serve the man at table eleven." A cook said from behind.

"Okay." Charlie picked up a menu and headed over to the table where the same brown haired man in the tweed jacket and bow tie sat, "Hi, welcome to Rose's Café. I'm Charlie, I'll be your waitress. I can get you anything?"

"I'll have a tea, please." He said, "Not that cold, sweet tea. Just a hot cuppa."

"Okay. Hot cup of tea it is for the professor." Charlie jotted the order down her in notebook.

"Professor?"

"Well, yeah. You look like a professor to me. Tweed jacket, the British accent, and the silly bow tie." She chuckled.

"Bow ties are cool. And I'm not a professor."

"Okay, who are you then?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor Who?"

"They call me the Doctor, don't know why. I call me the Doctor, too. Still don't know why."

"All right, one hot cup of tea for the Doctor. It'll be right out." Charlie smiled as she headed for the back.

Suddenly, a man came in, he looked like the boy from earlier, but a bit older. His hair was spiked, looked sinister, and wore a black suit. He sniffed the air around him and cracked an evil smile as he sat down at nearby table from the Doctor's.

Charlie came back with a cup of tea and placed it down in front of the Doctor, "There you go. Is there anything else I can get you?"

The Doctor smiled and noticed the emerald dangling from her neck, "Your necklace."

"Oh, this?" Charlie looked down at it. "I just got it today. Some random boy ran up and gave it to me."

"Oh? What did he look like?"

"British. Skinny, brown eyes, shaggy blond hair, and he looked like he was running for his life." Charlie said, "He thought I was the friend of somebody he knew."

"Did he say anything to you?"

"He said 'just tell him that he's found me already'." Charlie words widened the Doctor's eyes.

"Charlie, did that boy just give you the necklace?"

"No, it came in a wooden box. Let me get it for you." Charlie snatched the box from the back counter and gave it to the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at the box, then at Charlie. "Thank you."

"No problem. Holler if you need me." Charlie smiled and returned to the back, where the man in black slowly got up and followed her.

"Charlie, could you fold these?" A fellow waitress handed her a pile of fresh, clean, cloth napkins.

"Okay." Charlie set the napkins down and began folding.

The man in black suddenly approached her, "Give me the gem."

Charlie turned and was startled by the sight of the man, "What?"

"You heard me, human. Give me the gem!" He stormed up to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Charlie looked for a way out.

"The Gem of All!"

The Doctor took a sip of his tea and spat it back in the cup, "Ugh, she's probably better at making coffee." He examined the box and the carvings. Since the TARDIS can translate any language in the universe for him, the carvings became words.

_Doctor, _

_I leave you the Gem of All. My parents said that you were a good man, saving worlds and civilizations. I trust you to keep this vital item safe and never leave it into the hands of anyone else. Not even my brothes, Thalos. Please take it far from here that he will never find it, for he has already found me. Thank you, Doctor, for everything._

_His Royal Highness,_

_Prince Mikquin of Corsect_

The Doctor glanced towards the back where Charlie was, "This is not good."

The man grabbed Charlie's wrist and gritted his teeth as she cried in pain, "Give it to me or die, earthling!"

"Hey, what the hell is going on in here?" Mike entered the room.

"Silence!" The man pulled out a laser gun and shot it at her boss, dissolving him into ashes.

Charlie screamed at the top of her lungs, shooting the Doctor out of his seat.

"Charlie!" The Doctor ran into the back where he found Charlie being held hostage. "Who are you?"

"I am Thalos, king of Corsect." The man said with pride, "This disgusting human is holding the Gem of All!"

"Ah yes, the tyrant king, they say." The Doctor dug his hands into his pockets and smiled. "You found your little brother hiding here on Earth, did you?"

"Hi, I'm being held at gunpoint here." Charlie waved her hand.

"Oh, sorry." The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it the gun, short-circuiting it.

Thalos dropped the gun and pulled out an even larger weapon from his jacket.

The Doctor grabbed Charlie hand, "Come along, Charlie!" He pulled her out of the café.

"No, stop!" Charlie broke away from him. "What's going on? I want an answer!"

People ran out the café screaming as the laser gun fired a hole outside the restaurant.

"On second thought, let's continue running." Charlie took the Doctor's hand and ran.

"Ha! I like your sense of adventure, Charlie." The Doctor laughed as he ran with her.

Even though they were being chased down for their lives, Charlie gave a smile to the Doctor's compliment.


	3. Chapter 3

Getting to Know You

Charlie and the Doctor ran till they both ran out of breath. "Is he behind us?" Charlie gasped for air.

The Doctor turned around, "No." He coughed, "You are quite the runner, Charlie. I say, are you an athlete?"

"I've always been light on my feet." She chuckled until it turned into a harsh cough.

"You alright?"

"Fine. It's all this running." She caught her breath, "Hey, my apartment's right down here. The man with the laser gun won't be able to find us." She took the Doctor's hand and began to run down the street.

"Ooh, more running. I like it!" He smiled.

Charlie and the Doctor walked inside the Marcus' apartment, it was small, but everything was so neat. Very few family pictures hanged on the wall and there were dishes in the sink. "Sorry if it's a mess, I wasn't expecting visitors, you know. Well, not visitors that you bring home when you're being chased for your life." She laughed.

The Doctor drew a confused look as he stepped inside, "It's very small."

"Well, yeah. But you get used to it after a while. I have to use the bathroom real quick. Make yourself at home." Charlie walked into the bathroom while the Doctor sunk into the couch.

"It's so small." The Doctor muttered.

Charlie fixed her hair in the bathroom mirror and began to cough harshly again, "Ugh, not again." She groaned as she opened her medicine cabinet. "Where are they?" She turned and noticed a bag from the pharmacist on the counter, "Duh." She pulled out a bottle of pills and popped one in her mouth. "Much better." She sighed with a smile.

When Charlie came out of the bathroom, she noticed the Doctor watching the news on TV, "Whatcha watching?"

"I clearly have no idea. Something about politics." He said as he turned off the TV.

"I really don't care about politics. I'm fine if someone is doing a good job of running the country, not running it into the ground even further. But then again, we're not perfect. We all make mistakes. What we think is good is terrible for others. It would be better if they found some common ground."

The Doctor nodded at her with sincerity, "You don't look like a Charlie." He bluntly said.

"Charlie's just a nickname." She smirked.

"Charlie stands for…?"

"Charlotte."

"Charlotte! It's a pretty name! No, not pretty, beautiful! And you prefer to be called a name as plain as Charlie than Charlotte?"

Charlie looked at the man with a blank face, "Charlie's just a nickname. But called me Charlotte if you want, I really don't care."

"You don't?"

"Nope. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. William Shakespeare."

"I know. I've met him."

"You've met Shakespeare? Something about tells me that you're not the man you seem to be, Doctor."

"You're absolutely correct, Charlie. I'm not human."

"So, are you going to pull out a laser and threaten my life, too?"

"Of course not, dear Charlotte. I'm nothing like Thalos, I'm not even the same species."

"But you're still an alien."

"There are different aliens. Some are good, some are bad."

"Why are you here, then?  
"For that." He pointed to her necklace.  
"This?" Charlie looked down at the shining emerald. "Okay, what's this? Because I'd feel pretty worthless having to be killed over a tiny, green rock."

"Tiny green rock? Is that you think that is?"

Charlie held it out for him to see, "It's tiny. And green. So yeah, I would think so."

"Come on, Charlotte. I'll explain everything in my TARDIS."

"Your what-DIS?"

"TAR-DIS. It means Time and Relative Dimension in Space. TARDIS."

"Judging from that, you could've said time machine." She smirked.

"Come along, Charlie."

"Wait! I forgot something!" Charlie ran to the bathroom and grabbed her pill bottle, and ran back. "Okay, let's go."  
"What did you forget?"

"What? Oh, my keys. They're right here in my pocket." She patted her jean pocket.

"Aren't those your keys on the table right there?" The Doctor pointed to the dining table. Sure enough, there were Charlie's keys.

"Those are my mom's. I was borrowing hers until I found mine, which I did."

"But-"

"Are we going to talk about keys or find out what this is?" She pointed to her necklace.

"Okay, let's go." He led her out and closed the doors behind her. "Americans are really touchy when it comes to keys."


	4. Chapter 4

Welcome to the TARDIS, Miss Marcus

The Doctor led Charlie back into an alley, where no one could see them, "Huh, this isn't weird at all!" Charlie said, "A stranger taking a defenseless girl into the deep pits of an alley, where have I seen this before?"

"Come along, Charlie." He pulled her in front of a blue police box. "Isn't she magnificent?" He smiled.

Charlie blankly stared at the box before her, scanning it over with her eyes of sapphire, "Um…"She blinked, "It's a phone booth."

"It's more than a phone booth. Correct term is a police box." He pulled out the key and unlocked it.

"If it looks like a phone booth, shaped like a phone booth, guess what? It's probably a phone booth." She nodded her head.

"But it's not a phone booth, it's the TARDIS." He opened the door and led her in.

Charlie couldn't believe it. There was the console in the center of it all. The bright gold walls made the room shine even brighter. "Wow…"She sighed.

"Go on, say it. 'It's bigger on the inside.'" He chuckled.

"Do you have a bathroom?" She bit her lip.

The Doctor's jaw nearly dropped. After hearing everyone's reaction for hundreds of years, he never heard anything like that. "Um…I…" He was at a loss for words.

"Cause the place is basically your house, right?"

"Yes." He was flabbergasted.

"Then it would be pretty dumb of you not to have a bathroom in your house. Or TARDIS, whatever you call it."

"Of course, I…"

"Where is it then, cause I really gotta go!" She bit her lip once more.

The Doctor was defeated, "Up those stairs, down the hall, first door on the right."

Charlie looked up at the stairs and looked back, "Thank you! Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go!" She muttered to herself as she ran upstairs.

The Time Lord leaned against his console, "Many people comment on the TARDIS itself, but she comments on the loo? Who does that?"

Five minutes later, Charlie came downstairs and found the Doctor playing with a paddleball, "Bored?" She looked over his shoulder.

"No, I've done at least 258 so far." He kept his eye on the paddleball.

Charlie snatched the paddleball from his hand and gave him a serious look, "We have a problem."

"Oh?"

"This necklace, it won't come off."

"What? Let me see." Charlie threw her jet black locks over her shoulder and exposed the gold chain on the back of her neck. "Okay, here we go." The Doctor twiddled his fingers and touched the chain, only to be shocked by a green spark, "Ow!" He shook the pain off his fingers.

"What?"

"You shocked me!"

"No, it wasn't me! It was the necklace! Get this thing off me!"

The Doctor sat down and looked at her with defeat in his eyes, "It can't."

Charlie sat down next to him, "You told me you knew was this thing was. What is it?"

The Doctor looked at her and smiled, "That, my dear Charlotte, is the Gem of All."

"Gem of All?" She looked down at the emerald. "All of what?"

"All of everything there ever was. Long ago, there was nothing. Completely nothing. No time, no space, just nothing. Complete darkness. Until this beauty here started it all."

"It created everything. The galaxies, the planets, and the stars?"

"Everything."

"And it's still here after all this time?"

"Of course, the royal family of Corsect were the guardians of the Gem. But the Gem has no protector now since the King and Queen were killed long ago."

"Who's the King now?" Charlie asked.

"I believe you met him in the café."

"Oh. Fine, then. I'll find him and give him the necklace." Charlie headed for the door.

The Doctor ran ahead of her and blocked it, "Are you mad? Giving yourself up to Thalos? Is that your plan?"

Charlie nodded her head, "Yep, pretty much. The sooner I get this off my neck, the sooner I can get on with my life. Now get out of the way."

"Life? Ha!" The Doctor laughed, "What life, Charlotte? Going to school, your job in the café, and staying in at home? I wouldn't call that a life! I call it dull!"

Charlie looked down at her feet for she knew the Doctor was right about her life. According to her, it wasn't completely right. "So, what do we do?" Charlie sighed.

"Well, the true heir to the throne is in this town, as well. All we have to do is find him."

"Okay, who is the true heir?"

"Mikquin. He was the boy you met today. Before he left Corsect, Mikquin took the Gem of All to protect is from his older brother. He was supposed to bring me the Gem to protect it since Thalos found him on Earth, but instead he gave it to you."

"Was it because you were late or something?"

"I am never late. Everybody else is simply early, that's all. I always have track of time. I'm a Time Lord." He showed Charlie his golden watch that rested on his wrist.

Charlie looked closely at the watch's face, "Oh…um, you forget to set your watch an hour back. Daylight Savings Time, you know." She smiled as she pulled out her cell phone, which showed the correct time, "See."

The Time Lord looked at her cell phone and back at his watch, flabbergasted, "I…Well, I…Time doesn't matter!" He threw his hands in the air, "Well, it does in this dilemma because Thalos could find Mikquin and who knows what kind of chaos will happen!"

"Do you happen to know this Prince Mickey?"

"Mikquin." The Doctor corrected.

"Whatever." Charlie rolled her sapphire eyes.

"I met him when he was little. I was good friends with the royal family, saving their race for at least three times. I remember this one time-"

"Doctor!" Charlie snapped him out of his rambling, "Get to the point, please."

"Mikquin was fond of the beach near the palace. He would always go there to collect his thoughts."

"The beach, the one here is not too far away." Charlie said.

"The beach it is, Miss Marcus." He pressed a few buttons, "Since it's your first time inside the TARDIS, I recommend holding on to something." He said as he flipped the switch.

* * *

I do not own Doctor Who.


	5. Chapter 5

Empathy

Charlie hesitantly grabbed on the railing as the Doctor pulled the switch. The TARDIS began to shake as if you were experiencing an earthquake, until it calmly slowed down to a stop, making a wheezing nose. Charlie let go of the rail and looked at the Doctor with worry, "What happened?"

"Why don't you look outside?" The Doctor smirked.

Charlie gave him a funny look and opened the door of the TARDIS. She was no longer in the alley, she was at the beach. The cry of the seagulls filled her as she could detect the scent of the ocean spray carried along the wind, "The beach." She laughed, "We're actually at the beach!" She threw off her sneakers and socks and dug her toes into the sand.

The Doctor stood right beside Charlie, "Sure, you're excited about being at the beach, but you ask about my loo once you first see the TARDIS."

"You underestimate how tiny a girl's bladder is." She smirked as she picked up her shoes and walked down the sandy path. The sky had turned gray as the V formation of seagulls flew overhead. Charlie hummed to herself, the Doctor a few feet behind her, stopped when she noticed someone sitting in the sand. "Hey. It's him."

"Who him?" The Doctor finally caught up to her

"The prince, it's him." She replied. "Mickey."

"Mikquin."

"Whatever." She removed the flying strands of hair from her eyes, "I'll go talk to him."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." The Doctor sighed.

"Doctor, look at him. He's only a teenager, I know what he's dealing with, what he's going through." Charlie reassured him.

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm seventeen years old, he's a bit older than me. But alien or not, teenagers are still teenagers." She gave out a weak smile and walked over to the melancholy prince. "Hi."

The boy looked at her, "Hello."

She didn't bother asking, she just sat down right next to him. Charlie noticed how deep in thought the prince was. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"You wouldn't understand." He replied. "Today has been pretty upsetting to me."

"Yeah, I feel your pain, man." Charlie chuckled as she looked at the Doctor, watching nearby.

The prince looked over at Charlie, "You look familiar, have we met, girl?"

Charlie had to honest, "Yes, we have. Listen, um…"

"Mikquin."

"Mikquin, I'm afraid you've mistaken me for something that I'm way over my head in." She showed him the Gem of All around her neck.

"The Gem of All! You're wearing it? Are you mad?"

"Yeah, blame my curiosity." She smiled, "But you're the only one who can get this thing off me. Once it's off, I can get back to what I was doing before. Worrying about my own life."

"My apologies…" He looked at her.

"Uh, Charlotte."

"Charlotte, I cannot remove the necklace."

"What?" The Doctor appeared out of nowhere behind the two, scaring them both. "What do you mean, you cannot remove the necklace?"

"Forgive me, but who are you?" Prince Mikquin asked.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I'm the Doctor. You were supposed to give me the Gem of All for safekeeping."

"Doctor, is it really you? You look so different from the last time you visited my family."

"Regenerated." He pointed to his face.

"Okay, getting back to the point, why can't you remove the necklace? You're the rightful heir, not your brother!"

"But I am not king! Only the king of Corsect can remove the Gem of All, I am just a mere prince. Please leave me be, I need to think." Prince Mikquin shooed the two away.

"Come along, Charlotte, you don't want to upset a Corsect, trust me." The Doctor said as he left for his TARDIS.

Charlie ignored the Doctor's words and watched him wander away. "You're scared, aren't you?"

"I told you to leave me alone." Mikquin ordered.

"Listen, Your Highness." Charlie mocked him, "I'm not like your family friend over there. Royalty or not, you seem upset about something."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Mikquin snarled at Charlie, revealing his fang-like teeth protruding out of his mouth.

Charlie jumped at bit, but kept her ground. "Sharp teeth doesn't scare me. Look, I'm just like you."

"You are not." Mikquin laughed.

"You're right. I'm not royalty or have an angry sibling who wants me dead, but I'm a teenager. You are, too. Teenagers go through the same problems."

"I do not understand."

"You're the heir to the throne, right?"

"You are correct."

"You're scared of once you take the throne, you don't what you're going to do. All that responsibility in your hands."

"Are you psychic, Charlotte?"

Charlie laughed, "God, no. But once we kids get older, the harder the decisions we have to face. When you were little, did you ever make an easy decision, such as, what food you wanted to eat?"

"Yes."

"But being king leads you to make hard decisions, and you don't want to make a mistake, right?"

"No, I do not. My father was a great king. He always knew what was best for his people. Oh, Charlotte, I am not fit to be king."

"You think your brother is doing a better job than you, hmm?"

"Of course not, Thalos is a tyrant. I receive word from my home planet that he is starving the people. Who knows what is happening there?"

"Mikquin, even though I briefly met your brother when he held me gunpoint, I feel that you can do a much better job at ruling than he ever could."

I do not want to shame my family line, Charlotte. Would you ever want your parents to look down on you?"

"Actually, it's the opposite for me. My mother was unfaithful and I rarely ever see her since she is always with my stepfather. My dad, he's in a place better than San Diego. I see him sometimes and I know that I'm always on his mind." She smiled.

"As grateful as it seems, being king seems like a burden."

"We all have burdens to bear, don't think the that you're the only one, dude." Charlie rebuked.

"Charlotte, do you have any burdens?"

"Yeah. I do, and as much I want to believe and try, I'll never get it off my shoulders." She looked down in sadness. "Mikquin, if your brother is here on Earth, you can go home. You can reclaim your throne, come back and get this godforsaken thing off me, and we all live happily ever after."

"I believe you will not." Thalos approached the two with two grey anthropomorphic insects behind him. "Hello, brother."

"Thalos." Mikquin stood up.

"How did you find us?" Charlie asked.

"The Gem of All…there's a tracker placed on it in case it ever went missing. And there it is…the most beautiful thing ever…on your neck?" Thalos grabbed Charlie's throat. "I was right, humans are stupid."

"Thalos, let her go. I'll do whatever you want, just let Charlotte go."

"Feelings for the human girl, little brother?" Thalos gave an evil smirk. "Take her to the ship." He shoved Charlie into the insects.

"Wait, where's the Doctor? What have you done with him?" Charlie demanded.

"All in good time. First, we have to get the Gem of All off your neck."

"You can't. Only the king can get it off. You just stole the throne. So, technically you're not the rightful king."

"I didn't mean with my hands, idiot girl. You don't need you head, do you?" Thalos smirked.

Charlie's eyes widened at the hint.

"Not so stupid after all, eh? Take her." Thalos ordered the insects.

"Mikquin!" Charlie called after the boy.

"Charlotte!" Mikquin was stopped by Thalos.

"Come, little brother, you're going with me." He held a blaster in his hands and walked off with Mikquin.


	6. Chapter 6

Charlie was thrown into the brig by the two insects as they shut the door. "Let me out! Let me out!" She banged on the metal door.

"Charlotte?" A familiar voice spoke in the darkness.

"Doctor?" She turned around and saw his face, blood running down his mouth, "Doctor!" Charlie ran and hugged him, "I thought they killed you!" She gave out a laugh of relief, "What happened, are you okay?"

"They gave a good sock to the jaw that knocked me out cold. Where's Mikquin?" He wiped the blood from his mouth.

"With his brother." Charlie bit her lip. "This is all my fault."

"No, it's not. Well, it is sort of your fault by risking yourself by putting on the Gem of All. Why on Earth did you do that, Charlotte? The Gem of All is a powerful item!"

"I had no idea until you told me! It looked pretty normal to me. Besides, it's a pretty necklace! I'm a girl, girls are attracted to pretty things." She rebuked.

"Well, the good thing is, Thalos can't get the necklace off you since he isn't the rightful king, but neither can Mikquin…"

"Believe or not, they found a way to get it off." Charlie leaned against the steel wall of the cell.

The Doctor looked confused.

Charlie drew her finger across her neck, hoping the Time Lord will catch her drift.

"No…Charlie…" He went over to her and held her close. "This is my fault, I should've been there on time. None of this would happen. You wouldn't be involved in any of this."

"If I wasn't, then this wouldn't be the best day of my life."

The Doctor looked at Charlie as if she was crazy. "Really?"

"Doctor, you called my life dull, which is basically the only word to describe it. This beats out any of the adventure movies I've ever seen. Powerful trinket, royalty, aliens, it's the adventure of a lifetime."

The Doctor smiled at Charlie.

The cell door opened as Mikquin was thrown in.

"Mikquin!" Charlie ran over to his aid, "You okay?"

"Charlotte, they did not harm you!" Mikquin hugged the girl, which made Charlie smile.

"Mikquin, you're bleeding." She wiped the blood blue off his face, and why is half of your face missing?" She began to freak at the sight of blue scales on underneath his flesh.

"Forgive me, Charlotte, Corsects do not take the appearances of humans." He began to tear the rest of his disguise off, revealing his true face. Blue scales, big, blue eyes, but his smile was still there. A smile like his could never be faked.

"It's alright. We're just glad they didn't kill you." Charlie stroked his face and smiled.

"Your Highness, what does Thalos want with the Gem of All?"

"The Gem can create new worlds or destroy worlds. If the Gem falls into Thalos' hands, he'll create worlds of chaos, and destroy the planets of those who oppose him." Mikquin explained. "But fortunately, the Gem of All rests on Charlotte's neck."

"Unfortunately, he's going to kill me to get it. Chop my head right off."

"No, I will not allow it, Charlotte."

"Hey, we all have our problems. It's my fault I put this thing on my neck, and there are other problems we can't fix, but we just have to live with them and try to make the best of it." Charlie sighed as the Doctor looked at her, curiously.

"Problems? I wish there was an easy solutions to solve my solutions."

"You and me both. Perhaps there is a planet out there that can solve all of everyone's problems." Unbeknownst to the group, the Gem of All emitted a soft, green glow.

"That is the power of the dream, Charlotte." Mikquin replied.

"Alright, you can stop calling me Charlotte, it's only for pleasantries. We've known each other for about a good thirty minutes, I'll have you know I like to be called Charlie."

"But Charlotte is a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman."

"See? I told you so." The Doctor pointed out.

"I'm sorry, but is judging my nickname going to get us out of here? I think not." Charlie looked out the slits of the cell door.

"She is an extraordinary girl, Doctor. Where did you ever find her?"

"She is more odd than extraordinary, I'll let you know that when she first stepped into my TARDIS, she asked for the toilet. No one has ever done that."

"She does not, as the humans say, 'go with the flow'."

"You know, the echo vibrations are really good in here because I can hear everything you're saying." Charlie turned and looked at the two.

The cell door opened as the two grey insects came in. "His Majesty wants the girl." One of them pointed to Charlie.

"As King of Corsect, I order you to stand down, soldiers!" Mikquin jumped in the way.

"Foolish boy!" The other insect knocked him into the wall as the other grabbed Charlie.

"Doctor, please don't let them take me away!" Charlie reached for the Doctor's hand as tears formed in her eyes.

"Charlie, no!" The Doctor reached, but failed the insect soldier knocked him back as they departed with Charlie. The Doctor got up and banged on the door, "Charlie! Charlie!"

"What happened?" Mikquin came to.

"They took her. They took Charlie." The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair.

"Thalos will kill her for the Gem of All!"

"Aha! I completely forgot, my screwdriver!" The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver from his jacket. He aimed it at the door and opened it. "Mikquin, where did they take her?"

"The throne room, probably. It is this way." The prince pointed down the hall.

Charlie was dropped on the floor in front of a red scaled man in black robes, "Ow." She rubbed her arm, "Hey…hey, where's the other guy?"

"You mean me, girl. To think I would live in something uncomfortable as human flesh."

"Yeah, but I don't have to shed my irritating skin once a month, snake face." Charlie sneered.

Thalos slapped her across the face, "You dare speak to me like that? Humans are so primitive, I swear, once this world is mine, I plan to rid this place of all of you."

"And I'm the first one you kill, right?" Charlie stood up, but was forced to stay down by the guards.

"No, you're the third. Of course you're the first!" He roared.

"You didn't have to yell. Besides, you'd be saving a lot of time." Charlie smirked.

"Oh, saving you from pain? I'll torture you slowly, human."

"The pain you inflict on me can't beat out the pain inside me, or the pain that's to come." Charlie sighed of sadness.

Thalos came over and sniffed Charlie, "Oh…I see…Time is causing you the pain, is it, my dear?" His sharp claws petted her head.

"You're making it the situation worse when you say it like that."

"Silence, you are causing me grief. Kill her now!" Thalos ordered as the guards threw Charlie on the ground. One of the guards held her head down and exposed her neck as the other held up an axe above his head.

Charlie closed her eyes shut and grew hesitant of the axe. She took one deep breath, and allowed herself to no longer fear her fate.

The guard was about to swing, when suddenly the lights went out. "Huh?" The guard went dumbstruck as he lowered the axe.

"What happened to the lights?" Thalos grew angry.

In the darkness, the sounds of punches and groaning could be heard. Charlie felt herself being picked up and taken somewhere else. Somewhere away from the danger.

"Charlotte? Charlotte?"

Charlotte opened her eyes. The power had been restored, and there was Mikquin, caressing her face, "Mikquin!" She hugged him.

"Charlie, you okay?" The Doctor approached the two.

"Doctor!" She squealed as she tightly hugged him. "I've never been so happy to see you and your stupid bow tie."

"Bow ties are cool, Charlie, not stupid." He smiled at her.

"Whatever." She laughed. "Well, I'm alive, Thalos doesn't have the Gem of All, so far it's been pretty good." Someone fired their blaster at the group, causing them to duck as the shot missed. "I spoke too soon."


	7. Chapter 7

"Come with me!" Mikquin hollered as they stayed low to the ground. They managed to avoid the shots coming from the blasters to an escape pod. "Doctor, please lead Charlotte to safety. Keep her away from Thalos."

"Hold up, what are you going to do?" Charlie asked.

"I will deal with Thalos."

"What? Mikquin, no!" Charlie objected.

"Your Highness, I agree with Charlie here. You are the only hope for the people of Corsect." The Doctor nodded his head.

"I will no have excuses, Doctor. If I am dead, my people will revolt against the tyranny of Thalos and build upon peace." Mikquin said. He sighed and caressed Charlie's face, "You are a truly amazing woman, Charlotte. It was a true honor to meet you. By the way, I am glad you wore the Gem of All. You are true protector."

"Come along, Miss Marcus." The Doctor opened the escape pod with his sonic screwdriver, "Your Highness." He bowed before he and Charlotte entered the pod.

"Goodbye, Charlotte." Mikquin said as he kissed her cheek, making her blush.

"Going somewhere?" Thalos knocked Mikquin out of the way. "No one is going anywhere until I have the Gem of All!"

"Thalos, you are not going to take this girl." The Doctor said, sternly.

"I beg to differ, Time Lord."

"Thalos!" Mikquin shouted.

Thalos turned as Mikquin's fist made hard contact with his face, sending him to the floor.

"Nice punch!" Charlie smiled.

"Thank you. Doctor, wait!"

"Yes?"

"Thalos told me he plans to have at least fifty thousand Corsect battle fleets invading in half an hour. I cannot stop them, let alone keeping an eye on Thalos. If you-"

"I will do everything I can, Your Higness." The Doctor said as he released the escape pod. He turned and looked at Charlie, "Charlie, promise me you will stay on the beach. Do not do anything."

"BS! I've been through hell today and you think I'm going to sit on my butt and do nothing? Not even close, mister. Consider me your right hand." Charlie rebuked.

"All right, fine!" The Doctor had no choice but to accept. The pod landed softly on the sands of the beach. The Time Lord and Charlie ran to the lone TARDIS and quickly went to work. "Fifty thousand Corsect battle fleets are coming to invade Earth in…" He checked the time on his watch, "twenty-one minutes."

Charlie stood there and watched the Doctor scramble around the TARDIS like a person late for work, "Which means we don't have a lot of time."

"Yes, now. If I'm right, Thalos has transmitter signaling the fleet on the ship above. All we need to do is block it. So push that green button there, and twist this thing over here and pull the lever down, and keep it down for ten seconds. Got it?" The Doctor pushed some buttons on his console.

"Yep." Charlie did what the Doctor asked of her, "Now what?"

"All we've done now is blocked the signal. It's up to Mikquin to deal with Thalos now."

Back on the ship, the two brothers were throwing each other at the wall, throwing punches and blocking them. "You really think that starving our people will make you a great king? You will instill no trust into them!" Mikquin shouted.

"Trust? Ha!" Thalos laughed, "Trust is for fools! Fear is the only way to control the people! I cannot believe our parents were daft enough to leave you the throne!" He ripped the cover of an electrical panel and threw it at his younger brother. "The crown, the throne, it's mine!"

Mikquin dodged it and ducked as Thalos pulled a sword from his sheath, slicing a water sprinkler, sparking the electrical panel, "You are mad with power, are you not ashamed of what you will bring on our family?"

"I will start a new line of power, brother! None based on respect and tending to the needs of the people! As a start, I shall kill you first, then the Gem of All, and watch as a new universe unfold at my command!" The water poured hard on the brothers as Thalos had his blade over his head, "Perhaps your head will make a perfect gift for your human lover." He cornered Mikquin in front of the exposed electrical panel. "Goodbye, baby brother."

Mikquin sensed the danger behind him, "Thalos, stop!"

Thalos charged Mikquin, but the young prince swiftly ducked, sending the blade to pierce the electrical panel, shocking Thalos.

Mikquin watched his brother being electrocuted, his bloodcurdling screams rang through his ears and fell dead onto the floor. Mikquin got up and stood over his dead brother and took his family ring off his finger. "It is over." He sighed as he got down and cradled Thalos in his arms, "I loved you, brother."

Charlie sat outside the TARDIS, hugging her knees and waiting. Waiting for who would emerge alive.

"Charlie, I think you need to see this." The Doctor opened the TARDIS door and called her in.

Charlie followed him inside and stood alongside him as they watched the screen.

Mikquin appeared on the screen of the TARDIS and the screen of the Corsect battle fleets, "I am Mikquin, King of Corsect. I am here to inform you that my brother, Thalos, is dead. I am the true king. Once I return home, I will rule my planet like my forefathers ruled Corsect. If you do not believe me, here lies the Ring of Kings, passed down from king to king of Corsect." Mikquin showed the ring on his finger. "I give my thanks to the Doctor and to Charlotte Marcus."

"He's alive! Doctor, Mikquin's alive!" Charlie laughed and hugged the Doctor.

"That must be him outside." The Doctor opened the door as Charlie ran out and saw Mikquin walking on the beach from his escape pod.

"Mikquin!" Charlie ran towards him.

Mikquin stopped and looked up, "Charlotte." Charlie kept running towards him and jumped on him, knocking him into the sand, "Oof! Charlotte."

Charlie looked at him and started laughing. She haven't felt like this in years. She felt so…so happy.

"Your Majesty. Your chariot awaits." The Doctor approached the two and glanced at the TARDIS.

The Doctor set the controls for the next destination as Mikquin and Charlie sat down and talked.

"So, what are you going to do once you get home?"

"I will fix everything that my brother caused. I promised myself that I will rule Corsect like my father did."

"You're going to do an awesome job. I guarantee it."

"Awesome. I like that word." Mikquin nodded as Charlie laughed.

"Grab something, you two. It's time to go home." The Doctor pulled the lever as Mikquin and Charlie grabbed onto a rail and to each other.

The TARDIS materialized in front on Charlie's apartment building, unnoticed as people walked by. Charlie and Mikquin, his face covered by his hood, stepped out and looked around. "My apartment, I thought we were going to Corsect."

"Charlotte, I'm afraid I cannot take you with me to Corsect. I need to fix what my brother has caused."

"What about you?" Charlie watched the Doctor exit the TARDIS.

"I'm going to help the young king here. Don't worry, Charlotte."

"No, what about the Gem of All? Mikquin, you're king now, you can take it off!"

"I have to be crowned king, Charlotte, and that may take some time. I am sorry. But I am not sorry that I have met you." He stroked her face.

"I'll never forget you, Charlie. You unlike anybody I've ever met. That's coming from the hearts." The Doctor said.

"Goodbye, then." Charlie walked inside the building and waved.

"Come on, Your Highness, your people are waiting for a new day." The Doctor led Mikquin inside and waved goodbye to Charlie. In a minute, the TARDIS was gone. Gone from San Diego and gone from Charlie.

Charlie kept a soft chuckled to herself and headed upstairs to her apartment. As she opened the door, it was small. It was no TARDIS, but it was still home to her. The girl looked at her pill bottle on the coffee table, "I feel better actually. For once, I have nothing to worry about." She looked at it again, "You never know." She chucked it across the room and sat down on the couch, "What a day!" The phone next to her rang, Charlie quickly picked it up and answered it, "Hello?"

"Charlie, are you okay? The firefighters couldn't find you in the café from earlier!"

"Lil, calm down, I'm fine." Charlie reassured her.

"Charlie, what happened?"

"Trust me, Lily, you wouldn't believe me." Charlie smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

**TWO MONTHS LATER…**

Charlie continued life as if nothing happened. But the experience she had with the Doctor changed her a little. She no longer hid herself in solitude, she spent more time with friends and meeting people at the newly rebuilt Rose's Café. Her new boss, Jill, was a kind, young woman that helped her around the restaurant, and Lily would take her out shopping on the weekends. But Charlie felt that there was still something missing. Something still unresolved.

"Charlie, what are you doing tonight?" Lily came over to girl cleaning the counter.

"Just staying in tonight, Lil. Maybe I'll go to the zoo. I haven't there in years."

"Ooh, can I come?"

"Sure. I don't see why not." Charlie pulled back her hair into a low ponytail and smiled.

"Awesome! I'll see you later." Lily skipped away.

"Bye." Charlie chuckled and went to the back. She looked down and there was the Gem of All, still resting on her neck. He never came back and took it off. Maybe he forgot about it. It'd be a shame to forget something important like the Gem of All.

"Yes, make sure that she gets it."

Charlie heard a familiar voice that made her turn toward the front of the café. She ran out and saw Jill holding an envelope, "Who was that?"

"I don't know. He told me to give this to you." Jill handed the waitress the envelope.

"What did he look like?"

"Tall, tweed jacket, bow tie."

"Bow tie?" Charlie ran out of the café, "Doctor?" She couldn't find him in the sea of people walking pass the café. She became filled with disappointment, it could've been something, but not the Doctor. Charlie went back in and sat down.

"You okay, pumpkin?" Jill asked.

"Yeah." She stroked the envelope, "I'll be fine." Charlie watched Jill leave and opened the envelope.

_Miss Charlotte Marcus_

_You have been invited to an event of honor_

_Dress code: Formal_

_Transportation will take you to the venue at _

_Precisely 7:00 P.M._

Charlie scanned the invitation once again and shrugged, "Eh, what the hell?" She got up and approached Lily, the stylish person she ever knew, "Hey, Lil. I need your help with something."

"Sure, Charlie, what is it?"

"I can't go to the zoo tonight, I've been invited to some formal event. But I don't have a nice dress, and…"

"You think I can find one for you?"

"Yep, pretty much."

'Sure, Charlie. Ooh, I think I saw a cute little number at the mall. Let's go! Jill, we're heading out early!" Lily grabbed Charlie by the hand and dashed out of the café.

Later that night, Charlie checked herself in the mirror. A short, blue halter dress that covered her body as her jet black locks set up into a bun. "Well, you wanted a good life, Charlie. And you're going to get one." She smiled as she applied her lip gloss. 6:50 on the clock's face, "I better go." She grabbed her matching wrap and invitation before heading out the door. She walked out the building and she stood there in awe…smiling.

"Hello again, Miss Marcus." The Doctor, in a tuxedo, smiled at her.

Charlie threw herself into the Doctor's arms, "I can't believe it. You're back. I was scared that you ditched me."

"Come along, Charlotte." The Doctor opened the door for her and went up to the console, "We don't want to be late for the coronation."

"Coronation?" Charlie raised an eyebrow.

The TARDIS materialized inside a giant throne room surrounded in stained-glass windows. Thousands of insect-like creatures filled the room, leaving the only space in the middle. "Look, here come the man of the hour." The Doctor pointed to a familiar face.

It was Mikquin, dressed in regal robes, approaching the throne as the people of Corsect watched him. Mikquin turned to his audience and sat down. A elderly insect approached Mikquin with a silver crown, adorned with glistening jewels. "Mikquin of Corsect, will you rule this planet like your forefathers and the forefathers before them?"

Mikquin nodded his head, "I accept this right with full responsibility."

The elderly insect gently placed the crown on Mikquin's head, "People of Corsect, I give you your new king! All hail King Mikquin!"

"All hail King Mikquin!" The audience roared.

"Go Mikquin! You rule! Whooooo!" Charlie howled, leaving everyone staring at her, even the Doctor. Mikquin looked at Charlie and laughed.

At the reception, Charlie sat down watching the Doctor crazily dance to the upbeat music. She smiled and rolled her eyes at how silly the man was.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Someone came up from behind.

Charlie turned around and there was Mikquin, the crown on his head, and a smile on his face. "The Doctor sure can dance." She chuckled.

"Charlotte Marcus, if you'll allow me to remove the Gem of All."

"Oh, God, yes." Charlie turned around.

Mikquin gently fondled her neck and then carefully removed the necklace from the girl's neck. Charlie was free. "Better."

Charlie turned and saw the Gem of All in his hands. She looked deep into his eyes and smiled.

Mikquin felt lost staring into the blue pools of Charlie's eyes. His head leaned forwards, pulled by his lips, locking them with Charlie's.

Charlie wrapped her arms around the king as they kissed as they unlocked with grace, "It's good to be the king, huh?" She giggled.

"It is. I will never forget you, Charlotte."

"Same here. It's not everyday where you get kissed by an alien king." She smiled.

"I hope to see you again someday."

"Charlie, it's getting late. You should be getting home." The Doctor panted from dancing, "Your Highness." He bowed before Mikquin and pulled Charlie away.

"Doctor, what's the rush?" Charlie was thrown into the TARDIS. "I have plenty of time."

"That's just it, Charlotte! Time! There's always got to be a time and place for everything."

"You're right, time is short. Look, I don't want to go back to San Diego, Doctor."

"What?"

"I want to travel, see the universe and what it has to offer. Listen, I'm not going to live forever, unlike you, since you're what? 800?"

"You're flattering me, Charlie. But I'm 907 years old."

"Technically, you're old. You have seen so much while I've seen so little. So, would it be okay to travel with you?"

"_You_ with _me_ in my TARDIS?" The Doctor walked up to her, frightening her, "What the hell? The more the merrier." He smiled.

"You mean it?"

"Welcome aboard the TARDIS, Miss Marcus. Where shall we go first?"

"Can we stop by my apartment so I can pack? I really don't want to travel the universe in such a nice dress."

"Alright. But I have the perfect place to show you to start off."

The TARDIS materialized inside Charlie's living, it was snug between the floor and ceiling, but at least it would fit. "Okay, I'll just get a few things." Charlie ran out and noticed an envelope on the floor, "What the-?" She picked it up.

**TO: CHARLOTTE C. MARCUS**

**FROM: SAN DIEGO MERCY HOSPITAL**

Charlie's face turned scared at she looked at the letter, and took it with her into the bedroom. Minutes later, Charlie knocked on the door, with a backpack filled with clothes and snacks, and dressed in a simple red T-shirt and jeans. "Hey, Doctor, open up!" She banged on the door.

The Doctor opened it, all wet and rubbing his hair with a towel. "What took you so long?"

"Why are you all wet?"

"I went swimming."

"Swimming?"

"Yeah, there's a pool in here. Ready to go?"

Charlie took one more look of her tiny apartment, "Yeah, let's go." She walked in and the TARDIS slowly vanished from the home of Charlotte Marcus. Charlie sat down as the Doctor pressed some buttons on his console. She opened her backpack and pulled out the envelope from the hospital. She was tempted to open it as her fingers began to open the flap, "Nah…" She stopped and returned it back into her bag, "Carpe diem." She smiled to herself. Nothing was going to let her down, her adventure had just begun.

**THE END**


End file.
